Month: March 2014

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Lupita Nyong’o Wins Oscar For Role in “12 Years a Slave”

 

“Lupita Nyongo’s image was recently altered in Vanity Fair magazine to lighten her skin tone. But as you can see in these photos, she’s absolutely beautiful just as she is. And she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress! ”

 

 

Community Village‘s insight:

 

I love that Nyongo won and that Halle Berry had won for Monsters Ball in a previous year.

But what does it say about the U.S. that Black women only win an Oscar if the role they win for was when they were playing the abused or disrespected Black woman.

Next, I want to see an Oscar awarded to a Black woman for playing a role where she’s not being abused or disrespected.

And a curious double standard in U.S. culture is how the U.S. is mostly modest in terms of covering our bodies, even on the vast majority of beaches. However, these two women only won their awards after their bodies were bared on screen.

See on illuminatebytanya.wordpress.com

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Nearly 1 in 5 Americans Suffer from Mental Illness Each Year

20% of Every year, about 42.5 million American adults (or 18.2 percent of the total adult population in the United States) suffers from some mental illness, enduring conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, statistics released Friday reveal.

The data, compiled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), also indicate that approximately 9.3 million adults, or about 4 percent of those Americans ages 18 and up, experience “serious mental illness” – that is, their condition impedes day-to-day activities, such as going to work.

 

Community Village‘s insight:

 

And guns are super easy to get in the U.S.

How do you like that combination?

See on www.newsweek.com

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The Right to Dignity – Woman Stripped Naked By Male Deputies

 

“On May 19, 2013, in the LaSalle County, Illinois jail, 32-year-old Dana Holmes was arrested for DUI.  Caught on camera are three male officers, and one female officer, dragging Dana into a cell and holding her down while the female officer strips Dana of her pants and the male officers strip her of her upper garments, leaving Dana naked on the floor.”
See on blackbutterfly7.wordpress.com

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The Invisible War

 

“THE INVISIBLE WAR is a groundbreaking investigative documentary about one of our country’s most shameful and best kept secrets: the epidemic of rape within our US military. Today, a female soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire with the number of assaults in the last decade alone in the hundreds of thousands.

 

Focusing on the powerfully emotional stories of several young women, the film reveals the systemic cover up of the crimes against them and follows their struggles to rebuild their lives and fight for justice. THE INVISIBLE WAR features hard-hitting interviews with high-ranking military officials and members of Congress that reveal the perfect storm conditions that exist for rape in the military, its history of cover-up, and what can be done to bring about much needed change.”

 
See on www.youtube.com

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Tavis Smiley – Week Eight 2014

Tavis smileyPeniel E. Joseph – “Stokely: A Life”

Stokely Carmichael made history one humid night in 1966 when he stepped onto a Mississippi stage and called for “Black Power.” Neither his life nor the civil rights movement would be the same after that speech. Peniel E. Joseph, a history professor at Tufts University, offers a revealing portrait of the controversial and charismatic activist in his new biography, “Stokely: A Life.”

 

Thomas Brothers – “Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism”

In 1922, a 21-year-old trumpeter from New Orleans named Louis Armstrong boarded a train to Chicago, where he hoped to find his big break in the music business. Over the next decade, he made his mark, not by finding his big break in music, but by, in effect, breaking music. Armstrong’s talent and virtuosity broke all the established rules of the industry. Thomas Brothers, a music professor at Duke University, describes Armstrong’s work and influence, during what was perhaps the most important decade in jazz, in a new book, “Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism”.

 

George Johnson – Sports Drill

In his 3-minute sports drill, George Johnson offers his take on an NFL committee’s proposal to implement a 15-yard penalty against players who use racial and homophobic slurs on the field.

 

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Tavis Smiley – Garance Franke-Ruta – Week Seven 2014

Garance Franke-Ruta – “My Brother’s Keeper”

During his State of the Union speech, President Obama announced his new initiative pairing foundations and corporations with young men of color in an effort to help them reach their full potential. This week, the president unveiled that initiative, called “My Brother’s Keeper”, at an event held at the White House. Garance Franke-Ruta, the Washington editor for Yahoo! News, joins us to discuss the new initiative.

 

A Sorry Moment in the History of American Media

A recent report from the advocacy group, Free Press, found that there are no Black-owned and operated full-power television stations in the U.S. today. Eight years ago, there were 18—and while that number represented just 1.3 percent of all U.S. TV stations, it was, at least, a presence. Joseph Torres, senior external affairs director for Free Press, joins us to explain why Black-owned stations have disappeared.

 

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